The Bond of Siblings
by Alisia723
Summary: Deb's smarter than Dexter seems to give her credit for. What happens when she confronts him on her discoveries? Takes place at the end of season 5 during Harrison's 1st birthday party.


_**Editted: **_**this story was in sever need of editing, so I'm trying to make it flow better cause I think it could really use it**

**This is a one-shot that I decided to write after watch a few episodes of Dexter on tv today and thinking back to the end of season 5. I hope you guys like it even if it is a bit unrealistic. Plz review after.**

**This story takes place after the end of season 5.**

Dexter walked through the sand slowly on route for the tent where, his son, Harrison's first birthday party was being held. A lot had happened especially in the last several days, some good, some bad. All the men who had victimized Lumen were finally dealt with, but now she too was gone. In a sense he was almost relieved for her, but he still felt as though she had taken a piece of him with her. He knew she would probably be the only one who accept him for who he really was behind the mask, dark passenger and all. She had seen behind it and hadn't run.

Harry had taught him how to control and channel the urges, but he never encouraged him to be who he was; quite the opposite really. He denounced him in a not so subtle way; he couldn't deal with what he had created, couldn't accept him. Brian had truly embraced him for who he was, but that was obviously something completely different from how it was with Lumen. Brian was his brother and so much like, understood him better than anyone. He knew Rita would never have been okay with who he really was, actually she would have been mortified and probably disgusted. It wasn't a true he thought she could handle without crumbling. As for Deb… That he wasn't sure he even wanted to contemplate. She had recovered from everything that happen with Brian but still this was one truth he didn't think she could live with. He pushed aside the contemplations from, it was over now, it was time to move on to the next project. Those killers were dead, but there were still plenty more that would face the same fate. But for today, he'd try to forget about it all, let it all go. It was after all his son's first birthday party. He finally reached the party tent.

"So, Dex, be honest with me. Is it weird to bring a date to a first birthday party?" asked Vince donning a slight smirk, eyeing something behind Dexter, with tone of amused inquiry.

" No, Vince. I'm glad you brought her?"Dexter responded, hitting Vince lightly on the arm, though the statement came out as more of a question than an actual response as he wasn't quite sure how to respond. It was a bit awkward really.

"Uh, no… I didn't mean me. I meant your sister," he replied gesturing with his hand that sported a beer behind the other.

Dexter instinctually turned around in response to the vague gesture. His sister was walking along the beach toward them looking happier than Dexter had ever seen her, eyes gleaming and a grin from ear to ear. She was walking closely to Quinn, the motion suggesting they were now something more than friends.

"There she is the detective that solved the Barrel Girls case!" Lieutenant LaGuerta announced loudly as both, Quinn and Deb, enter under the tent.

Everyone clapped and cheered glad that another case was solved, one way or another. Deb seemed a bit embarrassed by the sudden attention but wasn't really bothered by it all that much. After only a moment, wasting no time, Quinn went casually over to where Dexter stood; feeling the need to express his gratitude for what Dexter had done, freeing him from false imprisonment. He thanked him discreetly but genuinely though Dexter passed the deed of as nothing more than him doing his job, like he hadn't done anything at all, like the test result wasn't a lie. But Quinn knew better; the blood had found its way on to his show when he came to meet Liddy. He knew the whether he wanted to admit it or not, without Dexter's help, he would have ended up behind bars, or worse, if it hadn't been for him as he put it 'merely doing his job'.

After the brief glance that emanated gratitude, Quinn left under the pretext of getting a drink though if Dexter were to be honest, he was relieved when he left. After all Quinn was currently one of very few _living _people who knew about Dexter's extracurricular activities though he of course didn't know the whole truth, far from it. He knew only bits and pieces but those pieces were enough to mean trouble, keeping Quinn at a distance was likely was wise decision, the only one at the moment because he couldn't kill him that would be a direct, purposeful violation of the code. Deb then promptly came over to Dexter, giving him not time to rest before the next encounter, scolding him for not telling her sooner that Quinn had been cleared. Apparently it wasn't just appearances; they really were more than friends now, not that they had really been good friends before. In the end, Dexter just replied about how Maria LaGuerta had wanted to be the one to tell her.

"You don't like Quinn much," Deb stated factually, already knowing the response as she watched said person.

"I don't like Quinn at all." Dex replied blankly as though it was already obvious, and he had no problem in saying it to her.

Deb just scoffed exhaustedly in reply, half expecting that response, but not actually thinking he'd just come out and say it so straightforwardly.

"But I want you to be happy," he said seriously, turning to face his sister.

She looked to Quinn again, who was talking with Maria and Angel Batista, smiling more genuinely and purely than Dexter could even remember, "I am. I'm happy. And you must be too."Dex eyed her questioningly, unsure of just what she meant by the statement. She smiled a knowing smile at him, "Now that this is all over."

He looked at her with the same confusion masking his face. She sighed in exasperation shaking her head. Her brother might have been great at sniffing out the murderers and guilty parties, but sometimes his denseness still amazed her, the fact that the he never really picked up on subtle notions. Was he honestly going to make her come out and say it? Just how exactly was she supposed to do that?

"Why don't we take a walk before the presents and cake? We haven't had any brother-sister time in awhile. I want to talk with you about some stuff," Deb offered, not really waiting for a response as she headed out from under the tent and onto the sand again. After moment of hesitation, he followed her. She hadn't really given him a choice in the matter.

They walked along in silence near the ocean, just out of the reach of its tides. They weren't far from the tent really but they had walked to a much less populated part of the beach; the party was still within view when Deb stopped and turned to look out at the waves. Her expression was unreadable as he waited for her to speak.

"So did she leave?" Deb asked, voice partially sympathetic, partially suggesting, not looking at her brother, "Though I wasn't really expecting to see her today."

He responded with the best response he could muster at the moment, all the while keeping up the mask, "Huh? What are you talking about, Deb?"

"Dex, don't play dumb. It doesn't suit you," Deb responded turning to look at him, "Do you really think I'm that stupid?"

Unsure if he was supposed to respond, Dexter stayed silent, waiting for Deb to continue.

"The new _tenant, _the family connections, the secrets, the past, and number thirteen. Did you really think I wouldn't put the pieces together?" wearing an expression that showed… sarcastic humor? Amusement? Dexter wasn't really sure.

Dexter's breath caught as he tried to conceal his shock, failing miserably. Others, they might not have noticed the slight expression change, but Deb noticed. Dexter was her brother, maybe not by blood, but she knew him a hell of a lot better than most.

"In a way though, I'm a bit relieved. I feel like all the questions of the past have finally been answered," Deb told him, expression changing to a relaxed, somehow very 'Deb' expression, "The hunter trips, all the secrets. And I kind of expected as much after I found out about what you'd survived."

Dexter Hesitated. Deb putting the puzzle pieces together on her own wasn't supposed to happen. It was plainly obvious he couldn't cover it up this time; no lame ass excuse would suffice, not this time.

"The tenant was number thirteen, wasn't she." It wasn't a question it was a statement.

Hesitantly, Dexter answered this time, "I don't know what to say. You were never supposed to find out."

"Yeah, I fucking figured as much," Deb responded in irritation, "We're siblings. You could have at least trusted me."

"You're mad that I didn't tell you?" Dexter was now thoroughly confused. That was definitely not the response he had been expecting. He had expected anger, yes, but not for not telling her. How did she expect him to tell her? That would probably have topped Deb telling him about her sex-life as the most awkward conversation they had ever had.

"Fuck yeah! But I mean, there is bit of the feeling you expected way down beneath the _fucking pissed_ of one."

"You're not going to turn me in? You do realize this isn't a onetime thing, right? It's been years and it won't end here." He stated cautiously, testing her, still not sure if what he hearing was real.

"You douche," Deb turned from being irritated to purely pissed, "Do you really think that little of me?" Her expression changed to one of uncertainty, "It is just killers, right?"

"Uh, yes." Dex responded. _" Or usually, anways."_

"Then fuck Miami's killers," Debra stated, reenergized, "You're my brother. And like you said this is nothing new, so that means, you haven't suddenly changed. It just means I know you better than I did before which isn't a bad thing. But I mean… it will take me some time to get used to this part of you."

She smiled a reassuring smile at his and walked past him back towards the party, pausing for a moment, "You better hurry up. It's almost time for cake and presents. Oh, and you better not kill my killers in any more cases, or I'll kill you myself." Her smile became a grin slightly at her last statement, and she turned her back on him continuing on her way.

Dex felt a small, barely visible smile take over, one of surprise, of relief, and glanced back at his sister as she walked away. That was Deb for you: foulmouthed and unpredictable. He never expected that kind of reaction from her. He expected tears, rage, misery, and possibly even his death or arrest. But instead she responded to his truth in a very Deb way, a way only she could. She accepted that even if he was a killer, he was still the brother she had grown up with. There was simply no longer a heavy, suffocating mask to hide behind in front of her.

He turned to the ocean. The ocean had a way of making people feel so small in a world so vast. And in a world this vast, there were more killers waiting to meet their fate. More families and victims waiting to be avenged through the death of the killer, who tore their worlds. More deaths to be prevented through the deaths of those killers. Though if he were being honest those weren't the reasons he did it, but it meant he still had work to do. So he couldn't rest, couldn't be caught not while there were more blood slides, more trophies, to be made from those killers. And so he had no choice but to trust his sister with his secret, his truth. And with that truth, she held his fate.

**Well, hope you liked it. I kind a think it sucks but I'm still fond of it. Please review! They are greatly appreciated. **


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